How we made the right business partners

Justin Nyasinga and Anthony Ngari on November 4, 2019. [David Gichuru, Standard]

Steve Jobs said great things in business are never done by one person; they're done by a team of people.

Sometimes a tag team makes all the difference between success and failure in a business.

This is the lesson Antony Ngari and Justin Nyasinga have learnt much to their delight.

The two jointly co-found Impact Botanicals, a processing company for organic nutritional and body care products.

“We registered the company in 2017,” Antony says.

Prior to the registration, in 2014, Antony had registered a sole proprietorship called Richard Foods.

“I am passionate about healthy nutrition. I got interested in herbal nutrition as a student of Biotechnology and Industrial Microbiology.

“My family had a history of lifestyle diseases and I remember one time my mother coming home with a herbal alternative to sugar.

“In my undergraduate research I ended up studying Spirulina – for its nutritional value,” Antony says.

Clearly, passion got Antony riled up. Richard Foods was the result of that enthusiasm.

He could have continued running the business solo but in 2015 Antony welcomed interest from his friend Justin.

“The idea of a business dealing in organic nutritional and body care products attracted my attention,” Justin says. “I felt it was timely because in the recent years we have seen an upsurge in lifestyle diseases to proportions that have forced many Kenyans to go back to the basics of organic food and organic products.”

Antony and Justin first met at United States Army Medical Research Unit (USAMRU – Kenya) in 2013.

“I had joined USAMRU as an intern upon graduating from Kenyatta University with a degree in Microbiology,” Justin says.

Antony was already in USAMRU when Justin joined. He was assigned the duty to orient Justin and bring him up to speed with his roles as an intern.

“We got chatting pretty fast. We engaged in conversations that challenged each other. We debated about things that we both cared about,” Justin says.

The internship position ended and Justin left to pursue further education. Antony got a new job as a quality manager at a food processing company in Nairobi’s industrial area.

From his university days Antony says he was business eccentric. He would buy goods in bulk and retail. He thrived in it.

The idea to start his own venture suddenly took over his imagination.

“I thought to myself, if I am dedicating 10 hours a day of my time to build my employer’s business, why can’t I dedicate the same number of hours to my own ideas?”

He would resign and register Richard Foods. And their paths (with Justin) would cross again a year later.

The idea to start Impact Botanics was mooted: initially starting small before registering in 2017.

Both Justin and Antony bring on board unique qualities that bolstered their input and thus turned the gears to grind for the business.

“When Justin joined me I was struggling to grow the business by myself. The business needed urgent injection of some capital. He came on board with Sh200, 000,” Antony says.

That money jolted the business to roar during a period when its fortunes had plateaued.

“My strength is in administrative work – developing concepts, facilitating smooth running of the business, marketing, figuring out where to seek new clients and so on,” Justin says.

On the other hand, Antony prides himself as the man behind product development, product designing, processing, manufacturing, quality assurance and innovation.

“Justin is able to convert an idea into a business and I am good at developing the right products for the business,” Antony says.

Today Impact Botanics operates from a four-bedroomed-maisonette in Embakasi Nairobi.

“We have ambitions to go fully industrial,” Antony says.

That prospect got a lot more real last month when the two partnered with billionaire investor Darshan Chandaria after successfully pitching at the Lion’s Den – which airs on KTN Home TV channel.

Justin says: “We applied to appear at the Lion’s Den in January this year. We went through a process of vetting and finally we got allowed to pitch. With humility, we were impressed when three of the lions gave us offers.”

Justin and Antony were offered Sh2.5 million for 25 per cent stake in the business. Chandaria offered them Sh2.5 million for 21 per cent stake. Another offer spelled out Sh2.5 million for 20 per cent stake.

“We chose Chandaria because beyond the money he was bringing on board mentorship, a distribution network, manufacturing potential and of course capital,” Justin says.

Antony says they had to think hard while choosing among the offers.

“While all the lions had fantastic offers we had to critically look at what else they were offering. This is because our greatest interest is to keep growing,” he says.

Impact Botanics is showing great potential. And Justin, 30, and Antony, 31, are rearing to go.

The company boasts a product portfolio of at least 20 items. Their premier products include honey, hibiscus tea, pumpkin flour, and moringa powder.